Symbol Matches

Symbol Starts With

Company Matches

Stocks: 'Sell in May' likely to continue

By Hibah YousufJuly 15, 2011: 12:33 PM ET

Click the chart for more stock market data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Investors have taken the old Wall Street adage of "Sell in May, then go away" to heart this year, and the stock market's slump is likely to persist during the last week of the month.

The Dow (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and the Nasdaq (COMP) have each lost more than 2% during the past three weeks, pressured by the latest round of economic and corporate news, which are suggesting that the economic recovery may be slowing.

Last week, reports on housing starts and existing home sales came in weaker than expected, and regional manufacturing activity slowed to the lowest level since October.

"The economy hit a soft patch entering the second quarter, and the economic reports are showing this," said Patrick Newport, U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight. "We are expecting more soft numbers in the upcoming week."

One of those numbers includes the government's second reading on first-quarter GDP. Economists are expecting economic growth to be revised to 2%, up from the initial estimate of 1.8%, but that's still lackluster, Newport said.

"Retailers in particular are concerned that higher gasoline prices are putting a constrain on consumer finances," said Peter Tuz, president at Chase Investment Counsel, adding that investors will continue to parse through earnings reports next week for company outlooks.

Market volume is also expected to be lighter as investors gear up for Memorial Day and the start of the summer.

"We're at the beginning of the summer doldrums," said Kim Caughey Forrest, senior equity analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group.

On the docket

Monday: Campbell Soup (CPB, Fortune 500) and Krispy Kreme (KKD) are on tap to report quarterly earnings before the bell.

There are no scheduled economic reports.

Tuesday: The new-home sales index for April from the Census Bureau is due at shortly after the opening bell. The index is expected to have remained unchanged from the previous month at an annual rate of 300,000 units.